“Maddock?”

I found him in the stables tending to the horse I’d developed a fondness for during my first night here.

“Laurel!” He turned toward me at the sound of my voice and quickly dropped the brush he held in his hands to run toward me with open arms, quickly scooping me up into a bear hug of an embrace as he spun me around in a circle. “Congratulations on yer happy news. I canna tell ye how pleased I am that ye will be here with us forever.”

For a moment, I was able to forget about what I knew was coming, and I smiled as he returned me to my feet.

“Thank you, Maddock. Listen, I need your help with something. It’s urgent.”

“Anything, lass. Ye are one of us now. There is not a one of us who wouldna do anything for ye.”

“That’s what I’m counting on. I need to meet with all of you, but Raudrich and Marcus absolutely cannot be there. Is there a way we can arrange that?”

He looked at me for a long moment, and I suspected he could see the fear in my eyes.

“Aye. I’ll have Harry place them both on Calder watch. We canna leave him alone. ’Tis the strangest thing I’ve ever seen. He is mad with his desire to leave here.”

I nodded. “I know. We need to meet as soon as possible.”

“After dinner, I’ll ask them both to keep watch. We will meet ye in the dining hall then.”

---

They didn’t like it, but I could see by their resigned expressions that there were no other options.

Maddock was the least receptive, which didn’t surprise me. He and I shared a bond of sorts, one that I’d noticed from the first day we met.

“Lass, I doona care for this. Faeries are too unpredictable. If anything happened to ye, Raudrich would never forgive us. We would never forgive ourselves for agreeing to help ye with this.”

“If any of you have another suggestion, I’m open to it.”

“I do, lass.” Harry spoke up from the end of the table, and I wanted to cry just by looking at him. He looked ill, heartbroken, and weary. “We keep Calder bound. We imprison him until she loses her patience and kills him. We can keep him from ye.”

I’d already considered that possibility.

“I’m sorry, but no. The moment Calder hands me over to her, she will kill him. If we prevent him from following her order, she’s likely to do something worse. I couldn’t live with it if Calder wound up like Freya because of me.”

“I’ll do as ye bid, lass. I’ll make certain that neither Raudrich or Marcus interfere. What say the rest of ye?”

I appreciated Ludo’s interjection. There was no sense in debating.

“Thank you, Ludo.”

Slowly, one by one, they all agreed, and our plan was set.

Maddock would relieve Raudrich and Marcus of their watch duty over Calder. I would go to bed like always and slip out as Raudrich slept. We all knew Raudrich would follow as soon as he realized I was gone. The others would be ready to follow him.

---

I lingered longer than I planned, but leaving Raudrich’s bed was the most difficult thing I’d ever had to do. I felt as if my life were just beginning. I sincerely hoped that it wouldn’t be over so soon.

Picking up the letter I’d written earlier to give to Maddock, I lifted the quill one last time and wrote Raudrich a note that I left upon his pillow.

Don’t blame the men. None of them wanted to do this. It will be okay. If it’s not, just know that you showed me what I never knew men could be. You’ve given me the best few weeks of my life. I love you. – Laurel

With one soft kiss while he slept, I left him.